IATA’s quarterly survey of airline CFOs and cargo heads, released Jan 19, reveals a slight uptick in optimism for profits in 2017. But with a more difficult operating backdrop foreseen with rising fuel prices rise and downward-trending yields, there are indications that momentum in the profitability cycle has weakened, IATA reported in its January Airline Business Confidence Index survey. Forty-two percent of the survey’s respondents said profits will increase over the next 12 months. “But this proportion is some way below the 60%-70% level that was the norm a few years ago,” IATA senior economist David Oxley said. During the 2016 Q4, 39% of respondents reported an increase in profits and 39% reported a decrease. <br/>
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Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp is expected to announce a further delay to the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) program Jan 23. Japanese newspaper The Nikkei reported that Mitsubishi Aircraft parent Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has confirmed the delay of first delivery of the MRJ90 to ANA to mid-2020. Mitsubishi Aircraft has called a press conference for Jan 23 to provide an MRJ program update. Mitsubishi Aircraft had been officially targeting first delivery to ANA by mid-2018, though Mitsubishi Aircraft executives had talked in recent months about achieving first delivery by the end of 2018. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp America chairman and CE Masao Yamagami said in November that it would be “challenging” to achieve first delivery in 2018. <br/>
US senator Charles Schumer is concerned about airlines charging passengers for the ability to use space in the overhead bin. The New York Democrat says passengers who purchase new “basic” fares offered by American Airlines won’t be able to store carry-on baggage in the overhead bins. He says he worries other airlines will follow suit and that one day all passengers might have to pay extra if they want to stow a suitcase overhead. Schumer said Sunday that all passengers should be allowed to use the overhead bins without extra charges. “You don’t have to know how to read the tea leaves to see that when it comes to new airline fees, the future looks turbulent for consumers,” Schumer said. “Yet again, and as predicted, another major airline just made it harder for everyday consumers to fly”. <br/>
Nigeria may consider itself a regional aviation hub but years of mismanagement and now recession have blighted domestic airline operations, making delays and cancellations the norm. Industry experts say the sector needs a fundamental overhaul, pointing to opaque management practices, rampant corruption and risks for passengers from security and dilapidated infrastructure. Arik Air, which has a 60% share of domestic flights and is the country’s biggest private carrier, has found itself increasingly in the firing line of disgruntled passengers. Other domestic operators are struggling. Aero Contractors, the second biggest carrier, stopped services for 4 months because of “serious financial difficulties”. According to one aviation security consultant, most Nigerian airlines run their businesses like a grocery store. <br/>
Indonesia is taking steps to curb disruptions to air travel after a series of volcanic eruptions near popular tourist destinations sparked havoc in this fast-growing air travel market. Volcanic eruptions in 2015 shut airports in parts of Indonesia’s vast archipelago, stranding tens of thousands of passengers, forcing the postponement of an international family-planning conference and costing local industry tens of millions of dollars. Now, Indonesia is taking a leading role on volcano monitoring as data becomes more prevalent and accessible. It is tapping into next-generation satellite technology that provides more frequent, high-resolution images, offering a more precise measurement of the size and danger of ash clouds that make advisories more accurate. <br/>
Australia has announced a radical overhaul of security at its international airports, with new technology set to replace passports as the means of identifying passengers by 2020. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection is seeking tenders for a self-processing system that would abolish incoming passenger cards, remove the need for most passengers to show their passports and replace manned desks with electronic stations and automatic triage. Instead, passengers will be processed by biometric recognition of their face, iris and/or fingerprints, which will be matched to existing data. Immigration minister Peter Dutton said the aim was for over 90% of passengers to avoid paperwork or manual processing by staff by 2020. <br/>